© 2010 Local Government Alliance for International Development

Developing a strategy

Whether you are starting from a relatively clean sheet or whether your council already undertakes some activity, your council’s international development initiatives will benefit from being rooted in a clear strategy.

A strategy should provide you with a roadmap to guide not just you but also your partners.

The stakeholders and partners in your international development activity may be local, international or both. If you are forging direct international links with overseas partners, then you will want to supplement your overarching international strategy with individual strategic or project plans for each partnership.
 

>>Find out how

The exact content of your strategy should reflect the nature of your goals and chosen activity. In general terms, however, both the overarching international development strategy document and any individual partnership plans should provide clear parameters and inform everyone what goals are being pursued and how it is planned to achieve them.

  • Take a clear view on the reasons why you are undertaking international development activity and the objectives you are seeking to achieve.
  • Sit down with stakeholders and potential partners, taking time to understand their situation, listen to their objectives and prepare a mutually beneficial plan with clear goals.
  • Revise your strategy in the light of actual experience, accomplishments and new challenges.

The strategy should make clear what mix of activity – developing country partnerships, development education, fair trade etc – is proposed to achieve your objectives.

If a council is partnering overseas, it is important that the council and its developing country counterpart draw up the partnership strategic plan together. This is particularly important when the partnership concerns development activities, as the plan should reflect what the development partners really need, rather than any western perception. Good partnerships should always work on the basis of discussion and agreement, as well as respect for differing points of view.

For further information on how to develop a strategic plan, view our interaction factsheet What is a strategic plan 

 

>>Case studies

Gateshead’s international strategy: developed by the local strategic partnership

Developed in consultation with a range of local, regional, national and international partners as well as the many communities across Gateshead, Gateshead’s International Strategy 2010-2013, ensures understanding and ownership of the key priorities from the outset.

The international strategy is a key delivery strategy for Gateshead’s Sustainable Community Strategy, Vision 2030, and in particular the Gateshead Goes Global Big Idea, which recognises that Gateshead is increasingly part of a global community, whose future is dependent not only on what happens locally, but also the wider international context. Gateshead Goes Global looks beyond council activities to include the role of all local partners in helping to achieve their ambitions set out in Vision 2030.

The international strategy sets out up front why Gateshead benefits from international work, with a strategic focus on 4 core objectives. ‘Supporting developing economies’ is one of the 4 objectives, and seeks to achieve increased profile and recognition, enhanced Fair-trade status and sharing of specialist expertise with partners in Pakistan and South Africa. The emphasis on outcomes and impacts means that Gateshead is better able to monitor how international work has a local impact.

MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger   MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development   

 

Leicester’s international development strategy: reflecting the 'One Leicester' vision

Leicester's International Development Strategy, reflects the vision set out in 'One Leicester' - Leicester's sustainable community strategy. 'One Leicester' is underpinned by key priority themes, including: skills and enterprise, community well-being and health, investing in children and reducing the city’s carbon footprint. Leicester’s international development strategy is framed in the context of those priorities and identifies areas of international work that bring positive impacts to the city. These include:

  • support for economic development and inward investment;
  • enhancing skills and improving performance;
  • celebrating local identity alongside international links to build cohesion;
  • improving global learning to improve educational standards and promote active citizenship;
  • response to environmental sustainability and climate change issues;
  • working alongside developing economies to meet social justice objectives and challenge global inequalities;
  • maximising the impact of Leicester’s twinning links at local and global levels.

MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger   MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability   MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development   

>>Self assessment

1 Do you have a good understanding of the current and future international priorities of your community, business and other stakeholder communities?

2 Are there special characteristics about the identity and heritage of your local area that are relevant shapers of international development activity?

3 Are there obvious points of focus that arise from your service delivery, service transformation, community development and economic development programmes?

4 Have you mapped skills and capability strengths and weaknesses from your council’s workforce strategy and considered what this means for the mutual learning that could be gained from international development activity?

5 Taking the answers to these questions in the round should enable you to identify:

  • what are you seeking to achieve from international development work, both generally and specifically?
  • what kind of international development ‘mix’ is likely to be beneficial? What blend of fair trade, ethical procurement, development education, support for local community or business initiatives and direct overseas partnerships is best for you?
  • what are the characteristics of the type of location(s) and partner(s) overseas that will help you to fulfil these objectives?

6 Are you ready to check your expectations and assumptions with those of potential counterparts overseas and revise your strategy accordingly?